Irish educator working in Kolkata for 62 years to leave over visa issues
KOLKATA: For all the love he got and gave in 62 years of devoted service in India, 84-year-old Irish educator Brother Brendan MacCarthaigh’s parting message eloquently spotlighted the values of spreading love without the pulls and pressures of one’s faith. He leaves for his home country, Ireland, on Sunday.
“Getting old is a profound experience. I find myself asking my purpose. I find that life has only one purpose. Love. Hold onto love as your value system whatever your religion may be,” he said at a farewell organised Saturday by the alumni of St Joseph’s College, in Kolkata’s Bowbazar.
He decided to leave after technical issues with his visa.
MacCarthaigh recalled growing up in Ireland when Protestants and Catholics were at each other’s throats and his homeland was badly off on many fronts. “I got no love… I was one of 11 children. We were quite poor. My family would have been better off with two or three children. As with most people, one’s childhood becomes the primary source of one’s inspiration to become the person they are going to be.”
He landed in Kolkata in 1960, aged 22, after being selected by the Irish Christian Brothers to teach in India. He arrived at St Joseph’s College, the first of the 23 schools of the Christian Brothers in India, and made the city his home for the next six decades, teaching not only school children but also kids on railway platforms and street corners.
His rough childhood allowed him to empathise with troubled children, leading him to found SERVE (Student Empowerment Rights and Vision through Education) in 1996 alongside Rajesh Arora and Abbas Bengali, representing the goal of religious unity to solve social problems.
“Brother MacCarthaigh found that India was the suicide capital of the world, with very depressed school-going children. SERVE worked to relieve the pressure of these students and to help them view education with enthusiasm,” said former student Imran Zaki, who implements the Irishman’s teaching methods in his school for the underprivileged.
“He is too large a person to describe in a few words. He was gentle but stern. He never believed in mincing words. His heart always beat for the students who suffered due to the pressure of exams and he spent many years fighting for them,” said Lata Bhatia, an activist.
Former students and associates unanimously called his decision to leave a “big loss”. Will the man who inspired thousands of children, activists and educators in India carry on with his mission in Ireland? “I don’t know. It depends. If they let me.”
